I'm in Senior Year, and the System Says I'm Going on a Blind Date with My Childhood Sweetheart

Chapter 213: Chapter 146: Li Bao’s Wake-up Call Sounds So Nice

The so-called "Sugar-Hunting Squad" of the Kissing Association could be understood as their version of paparazzi.

The Kissing Association’s paparazzi weren’t as extreme as real ones, though. After all, they were just students, and academics were still key.

For the most part, Shen Yuan and Li Zhi were defenseless against the Sugar-Hunting Squad.

After all, the Sugar-Hunting Squad was just made up of ordinary students around them.

Besides, according to the Kissing Association’s code of conduct, these people wouldn’t take pictures. Their main focus was purely text-based work.

—To add sugar, and more sugar.

The Kissing Association even had a special term for this internally—"sugar cubes."

You could say that over the next few days, He Zhiyu received a huge pile of "sugar cubes" from Zhuo Peipei every day.

What He Zhiyu had to do was sift through these "sugar cubes" for clues about breakthroughs in Shen Yuan and Li Zhi’s relationship, then edit them into content for the Sugar Text.

Of course, Zhuo Peipei had another reason for collecting "sugar cubes," which was also related to shipping.

Their Kissing Association was all about shipping. They’d ship scattered bits of sugar, and they’d ship whole sugar cubes.

But a piece of sugar with a clear beginning and end, and a complete story in the middle—that was the highest grade!

Those plots where their relationship had a breakthrough were way sweeter than the sugar that was currently leaking out from between the two of them!

...

Over the next few days, Shen Yuan kept feeling like someone was following him.

The feeling would basically start after he got to school and wouldn’t disappear until he entered his residential complex.

"Dammit, I feel like I’m being followed."

It was Li Zhi’s turn for cleaning duty this week. After Shen Yuan finished sweeping for her, the two of them headed home.

Hearing Shen Yuan’s words, Li Zhi nodded. "It’s a no-brainer. It has to be Peipei and Zhiyu. Those two are always trying to ship us. They never give it a rest."

Shen Yuan chuckled. "I bet the Kissing Association is probably using ’whoever can find the most sweetness between us’ as the requirement for their next presidential election."

"It wouldn’t go that far, would it?" Li Zhi felt a little spooked.

"Maybe we shouldn’t walk together anymore. I’d still like a little privacy."

Shen Yuan rolled his eyes. "That’s a bit much. It’s not like there’s anything going on between us. I think it’s more likely they’re gathering material for *Defend and Steal*. Zhuo Peipei probably realized that *Defend and Steal* has fallen a bit behind the current version."

"Huh?"

Li Zhi whipped her head around to look at Shen Yuan. "What do you mean?"

Shen Yuan shrugged. "I mean our progress is way faster than in *Defend and Steal*."

The moment she heard this, the tips of Li Zhi’s ears burned bright red.

The beautiful girl suddenly spun around, her black ponytail swinging in an arc of embarrassed anger.

At the same time, her voice drifted over.

"Wh-what nonsense are you talking about!"

The end of her sentence quivered and rose, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

"We’ve already talked about getting a marriage license. You still think our progress isn’t fast?"

The moment the words left Shen Yuan’s mouth, Li Zhi, like an enraged lion cub, launched a kick at him.

The tip of her canvas shoe flashed white under the streetlight.

Shen Yuan, having anticipated this, took half a step back, but she still grazed his pant leg.

The young man grinned and raised his hands in surrender.

"My bad, my bad, I won’t joke anymore! Have mercy, Li Bao! If you break me, you’ll be the one who feels bad later."

"You’re still talking!"

She chased him and started hitting him, her fists raining down on Shen Yuan’s shoulders, but with a force as light as falling cherry blossoms.

Shen Yuan’s cheerful laughter was swallowed by the night.

The elevator doors opened slowly. Li Zhi, still pouting, walked to her front door and prepared to open it.

Just then, Shen Yuan’s voice suddenly sounded beside her ear. "The monthly exam is tomorrow. Is there anything you want to say to me?"

Hearing this, Li Zhi turned and glared fiercely at Shen Yuan, saying irritably, "I wish you a 634!"

"Haha, I’ll take that as a blessing! If I can really score 634, then you have to remember to wish me an even higher score for the college entrance exams."

Shen Yuan put his hands on his hips, a smug look on his face. "If I do, maybe I’ll even get into Zhejiang University."

Li Zhi irritably rolled her eyes at Shen Yuan.

"Look at you, so promising. Can’t you just work hard on your own?"

Shen Yuan chuckled slyly. "If I work hard, what’s my reward, Li Bao?"

A pleasant smile appeared on Li Zhi’s face. "Why don’t you score that 634 first, and then we’ll talk."

"Don’t you know perfectly well whether I can score a 634 or not?"

Hearing Shen Yuan’s words, Li Zhi’s brows furrowed slightly.

The moment Li Zhi frowned, the image of Shen Yuan hunched over his desk, writing furiously, suddenly flashed into her mind.

Li Zhi remembered those lunch breaks by the window, the sunlight slicing diagonally across Shen Yuan’s profile.

The harsh sunlight made him habitually hide behind a pile of books to do his problems. He’d rest his head on his left hand and grip a pen in his right, scribbling formulas on scratch paper. The ink would sometimes smudge onto his hand, just like a little kid.

The Huanggang Paper she had given Shen Yuan was visibly getting thinner, while Shen Yuan’s notebook of mistakes was constantly getting thicker.

Shen Yuan had spent most of his lunch breaks these past few days doing practice problems.

But occasionally, Li Zhi would also see Shen Yuan sleeping at his desk for a little while during lunch break.

His cheek would be pressed against a test paper, the ink leaving a faint imprint on his skin.

He would still be loosely holding his pen, the thin calluses on his knuckles a faint red.

But what struck Li Zhi most clearly was probably how, over the past few days, Shen Yuan would always call her at 5:10 AM.

Shen Yuan, on the other end of the line, always sounded full of energy. You could tell that he was already wide awake every time he called.

Li Zhi’s gaze suddenly fell upon Shen Yuan.

"I’ll wake you up tomorrow."

Hearing Li Zhi’s words, Shen Yuan’s fingers, which were holding his backpack strap, tightened unconsciously.

Shen Yuan’s Adam’s apple bobbed slightly, as if he were trying hard to swallow the sudden wave of sweetness.